Early chances not enough for North Stars
By Anthony Zilis

CLICK HERE FOR ST. CHARLES NORTH'S TEAM PAGE

Leyden junior Tony Guzman’s game-winning, left-footed blast in Saturday’s 2-1 win over St. Charles North was picture perfect.

No hint of discomfort was evident in the defender’s approach as he reared back and let loose a looping shot from 25-yards out that beat St. Charles goalkeeper Billy Larsen to the upper corner.

The game-winning shot shocked Guzman, who isn’t left-footed and can’t remember scoring from outside the penalty area with his weak leg.

“It was a big surprise to me,” Guzman said. “I just trusted my left foot and just shot it.”

The powerful wind that aided Guzman’s shot to the upper corner played a major factor all game. The down-wind goal saw most of the action and both goals from the run of play.

St. Charles North went with the wind during the first half, and the North Stars had a majority of the chances early.

In the early-goings, Simone Sperarti played both Tom Wittman and Kyle Swanson into the penalty area, but neither could finish.

In the 10th minute, Sebastian Gostynski’s shot from the edge of the penalty area went just over the cross bar.

Sperarti had a chance of his own in the 11th minute when Nolan Pellitier found him with a cross, but Sperarti’s header just missed.

After that bevy of chances, the North Stars stuck first in the 12th minute, when Sperarti crossed to Gostynski, who headed the ball down to Swanson inside the six yard box, and the senior was there for the easy finish.

The Saint Charles North (4-8-2) chances didn’t stop there, but the goals did.

In an 11-minute span late in the first half, shots by Gostynski, Wittman, Matt Picinich and Phillip LeGare went just wide.

“You kind of want to have the mentality that you’re playing a really good team, and you want to build a bigger lead. You want to build a better lead than 1-0,” St. Charles North defender Justin Stanko said.

“This wind is such a factor. We were going with the wind during the first half, and we just needed to finish our chances. One goal isn’t enough because you knew the second half they were going to come flying at us.”

Late in the first half, Leyden (10-3-2) was able to equalize when Albert Arabik was taken down in the box, and Juan Recendez coolly stepped up and buried the penalty kick.

In the second half, with the wind at their backs, Leyden came out firing. The game was played on the North Stars’ practice field because of an issue with their normal field, and the goalmouths were muddy. Leyden coach Mark Valintis knew it would be tough for St. Charles North goalkeeper Billy Larsen to dive.

“I told them during the first half, anything from midfield, they could kick it as far,” Valintis said. “It’s a playoff atmosphere, just wet and cold, and anything can happen, and in the second half, I said, ‘Any time you get to the bottom of the circle, have one. The goalie’s footing down there isn’t going to be all that great.’”

Larsen still came up big for the North Stars early in the second half, when he made a diving save on Leyden forward Christian Hernandez’s shot from just outside the penalty area, which looked bound for the upper corner.

Two minutes later, Recendez’s shot from the edge of the box hit the inside of the post but bounce harmlessly across the goalmouth. In the 45th minute, Leyden junior Noe Centeno almost gave the Eagles the lead with a shot that hit the cross bar.

Finally, in the 70th minute, Guzman gave the Eagles the lead with his perfect left-footed blast that beat Larsen.

Despite a few frantic chances at the end of the game, the North Stars weren’t able to equalize.

The win was the Leyden’s sixth in its last seven games. In all of their last seven, the Eagles have scored multiple goals.

“We’re just playing simple soccer, one and two-touch,” Valintis said. “We have a lot of guys who have a lot of individual talent, and they love to dribble. When they dribble, we lose it and the other team goes the other way. When we play one and two-touch and move the ball, it creates everything for everybody else. Over the last two weeks, we’ve been able to do that.”

Aside from those early chances, St. Charles North Eric Willson couldn’t find many positives to take out of Saturday’s game.

“The first 15 minutes, we came out and played the kind of soccer we wanted to play,” Willson said.

“We got a one-goal lead, and we went away from it as soon as we scored. We kind of lost our shape in the middle of the field and we lost playing the combination passes that make us a good offensive team, and when you do that and you let a team hang around like we did, that’s what happens.”

St. Charles North has a roster full of new players. While they’re talented, the North Stars don’t think they’ve come together quite yet.

Still, Stanko said he’s seen improvement from the group.

“We’re having a rough season right now, but we’ve definitely come a long way since our first game,” Stanko said.  “You’ve got a bunch of new faces and you’ve got to figure out how they play and what each kid is good at, so we’re just still not to that point yet. I know we’ll get there, but it’s going to take some time.”